# Nucleus Manual
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# Nucleus & Nucleus+<br>User Guide and Manual
## Introduction
### What is Nucleus?
At the heart of every Roon system is a [[Roon Core|Why Core?]]. This is the brain behind the entire Roon experience – it manages your music collection, streams to your audio devices, and stores the Roon database. Nucleus was developed by the Roon team to provide a silent, high-performance, power-efficient appliance to host the Roon Core. Every aspect of the hardware, operating system, and software is optimized to make Nucleus the very best way to run Roon-by the same team who made Roon.
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## What's in the box?
<small>
- 1 Nucleus or Nucleus+
- 4 screws for mounting an optional internal HDD or SSD
- Quick Start Guide
- 1 Power supply (to be connected to Nucleus)
- 1 Power cord (to be connected to the power supply)
- 1 female to male straight-line adapter for the power supply (only if power supply has right angle)
</small>
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## Back panel layout
<img src='http://roon-kb.s3.amazonaws.com/a6c7c144-5cf1-40d6-a156-7a6108e57080.png'/>
1. **Power button and Power LED**
- Press power button once to turn on the unit or to initiate a clean shutdown.
- A dim white LED will be lit when the unit is powered on.
- Hold the power button for 4 seconds to hard power off.
2. **Power connector**
- Connect the power supply here.
3. **HDMI port**
- This port can be used as a multichannel audio output.
- This port can be used for diagnostics by the Roon support team.
4. **Ethernet port**
- Connect your Nucleus to your network via an ethernet cable
- Nucleus will only connect to your network over Ethernet.
- Note: the lights here should be on and blink even when the unit is not turned on.
5. **USB 3.0 ports** (2)
- Can be used for connecting:
- USB storage drive
- USB audio device
- USB network adapter
6. **Thunderbolt port**
- Currently not active. May become active in a future firmware update.
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## Nucleus Setup Guide
Whether you are new to Roon or an existing customer, this guide will walk you through all of the steps required to set up your Nucleus.
#### Table of Contents:
1. [Before you get started](https://kb.roonlabs.com/Nucleus_Guide:__Before_You_Get_Started)
1. [Powering up Nucleus](https://kb.roonlabs.com/Power_Up_Nucleus)
1. [Updating Nucleus](https://kb.roonlabs.com/Updating_Nucleus)
1. [Setting up Nucleus media storage and audio devices](https://kb.roonlabs.com/Nucleus_Media_Storage_And_Audio_Devices)
1. [Nucleus internal storage](https://kb.roonlabs.com/Nucleus_Internal_Storage)
1. [Connecting to Nucleus from Roon Remote](https://kb.roonlabs.com/Connecting_Your_Remote_To_Nucleus)
1. [Configuring Roon for Nucleus](https://kb.roonlabs.com/Configuring_Roon_With_Nucleus)
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## Nucleus FAQs
- [How do I migrate to Nucleus from my existing Roon Core?](https://kb.roonlabs.com/Nucleus_Migration_Guide)
- [How do I connect to the Nucleus Web Administration Interface?](https://kb.roonlabs.com/Nucleus_Web_Administration_Interface)
- [How do I import music into Roon?](https://kb.roonlabs.com/FAQ:_Importing_Music)
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## Nucleus Support
If you’re in need of further troubleshooting assistance, get in touch with our team by posting details in the [Nucleus Support section of Community.](https://community.roonlabs.com/t/need-help-with-nucleus-start-here/51882)